


Timeless Treasures of the Heart

by jdale



Category: Hardy Boys - Franklin W. Dixon, Nancy Drew - Carolyn Keene
Genre: Established Relationship, F/M, Mentions of Cancer, Moving In Together, Past Character Death, Reminiscing, Spooning, stuffed animal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-07
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-13 20:27:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,058
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29906616
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jdale/pseuds/jdale
Summary: Frank learns something unexpected about Nancy as they prepare to move in together.
Relationships: Kate Drew & Nancy Drew, Nancy Drew/Frank Hardy
Comments: 1
Kudos: 2





	Timeless Treasures of the Heart

“Wow,” Frank said as he looked at the row of duffel bags lined up on the floor of Nancy’s bedroom in River Heights. “I still can’t believe you’re actually moving in with me.”

Nancy smiled. “I can hardly believe it either.”

“We haven’t forgotten anything, have we?” Frank asked.

Nancy’s eyes narrowed as she scanned the open bags.

“Sherlock,” she muttered.

As Nancy turned around and began rummaging through her drawers, Frank reminded her, “We loaded your books into the car an hour ago, remember?”

Nancy looked up at him in confusion for a moment before her expression turned sheepish. “Oh, that’s right. You probably haven’t met him yet. I don’t usually bring him with me when I travel, there’s too much risk of him getting lost, but…having him always helps me sleep a little easier.”

Frank frowned. “Nancy?”

A wide smile split Nancy’s face as she opened the closet door. “There you are!”

She reached into the closet and emerged with her arms wrapped around a large stuffed unicorn that stretched from her chin to just above her waist.

“Frank, this is Sherlock,” she told him. Turning to look at the unicorn, she said, “Sherlock, this is Frank Hardy that I’ve been telling you about the past few years.”

With a dopey grin, Nancy took hold of one purple foreleg and waved it at Frank, saying in an artificially high-pitched voice, “Hi, Frank! It’s so nice to finally meet you!”

“The pleasure is all mine,” Frank replied with an amused smile. To Nancy, he said, “I…I must admit to being a little curious, though. I would not have pegged you for being that big on stuffed animals.”

Nancy’s smile turned melancholy. “My mom won him for me at the county fair when I was four. That…that day is one of the few clear memories I have of her.”

Sensing her distress, Frank gently pulled her into a hug. “Nance, I’m sorry if—”

She waved him off. “No, it’s okay, Frank. Maybe we can get comfortable first, though?”

Frank nodded and went over to stretch out on Nancy’s bed, adjusting the pillows to prop himself up to something resembling a seated position. Nancy spooned into him, Sherlock still held close as she let her head drop onto Frank’s shoulder. She let out a contented sigh as she felt Frank’s arms slide around her waist.

“It was a Sunday,” Nancy began. “Dad was out of town on a business trip, and Mom had…she’d just found out earlier that week that her brain tumor had returned, and the doctor said it was inoperable this time. She was feeling pretty down, but…when I asked her if we could go to the fair, she said yes right away, even though I could sort of tell she wasn’t entirely sure if she was up to it.

“So we got in the car, and it was maybe a fifteen-minute drive from here to the fair,” she continued. “Got there about 12:30, so we decided to have lunch first. Corn dogs and a big basket of fries. After that, we went on a few of the rides—carousel, Ferris wheel, that sort of stuff. Nothing too exotic. Anyhow, so we were walking down the midway, and I saw Sherlock hanging on the wall of the shooting gallery, and I just knew I had to have him.”

Nancy chuckled. “That was when Mom really got into it. I mean, don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t that she hadn’t wanted to be there before then, but…”

“You gave her something specific to do to take her mind off the tumor,” Frank supplied.

Nancy nodded. “Yeah. She just sort of gave me this sly smile and told me she’d take care of it. We walked over to the shooting gallery, she talked with the operator for a minute or two, and then she shouldered the gun, set her jaw, and started firing away. And maybe ten, fifteen minutes later, we walked out of there with Sherlock. I was so indescribably happy to have him, and…and Mom was happy because I was happy.”

“Any particular reason you wanted a purple stuffed unicorn, if you don’t mind my asking?” Frank said.

Nancy shrugged. “I was four. Who knows what was going through my mind? Anyhow, after that, we went on some more of the rides. Did that for the rest of the afternoon, and when it was starting to get dark, we had…what I’ll generously call dinner. Really, we just gorged ourselves on funnel cake until we were both too full to move. When I told Bess and George about it the next day, we all three agreed that I had the best mom ever.”

Her expression became drawn. “And then two months later, she was gone. I didn’t think I would ever stop crying. I took Sherlock everywhere with me for two weeks after the funeral because I thought he and I together could somehow bring Mom back.”

Nancy looked up at Frank with a wistful smile. “She would’ve loved you.”

Frank smiled back at her. “I’m sure I would’ve loved her, too.”

“So that…that’s Sherlock’s story,” Nancy said. With a hint of nervousness in her voice, she asked, “You don’t think I’m childish for still sleeping with a stuffed animal, do you?”

“No, Nancy, I don’t think that’s childish at all,” Frank assured her quickly. “I think it’s only natural that you’d want something to remind you of your mother.”

Nancy let her eyes fall shut as she snuggled deeper into Frank’s embrace. “Thank you.”

Frank gently placed a kiss in Nancy’s hair. “Of course.”

“I still miss her, Frank,” Nancy murmured. “Even after all these years, I miss her so much.”

“I know,” Frank said. “The important thing is to hold onto those memories. Don’t let the happy memories make you sad because she’s gone; be happy because you got the chance to make them.”

The barest hint of a smile came to Nancy’s lips. “That…that’s actually really good advice. How did you get to be so smart?”

“I saw what Joe went through losing Iola,” Frank replied simply.

Neither one spoke for a long moment after that.

“I love you, Frank,” Nancy said eventually.

Frank smiled, kissing Nancy’s hair once more. “I love you, too, Nance.”


End file.
